Many feel that this is the best of the 4 main Alien movies, called the Alien Quadrology. I do not agree. The main reason is the editing and the pacing of the film is not perfect. That is the reason why I feel that Alien, Aliens, and Alien resurrection (Alien 1,2,and 4 respectively) are rated equally in my opinion. I also look at the films as a whole and not individual movies in my rating structure. You really should see all four movies in order and see the directors cuts of each. It is a good series of movies (although alien 3 was very weak compared to the other 3 movies).
<Spoiler> I will talk about some spoilers in this review to set the movie up. So if you do not want to be spoiled then just skip the next two paragraphs. My suggestion is just see all four movies in order, they are worth seeing if you are a Sci-fi fan.
The movie starts out several decades in the future. Ripley has been in stasis this whole time and has not aged. Her life boat never woke her and no one ever intercepted it until now. She is captured by a salvage crew and taken to Earth. It is there that she realizes her daughter is no longer alive and that the company is not pleased with her actions in the previous movie. They also do not believe the story she told about this alien encounter.
She is viewed as guilty of blowing up company property and has her pilot license taken away. But the planet where her nightmare began is now inhabitated by colonists. The colonists were fine but soon after Ripley's testimony communication with the colony stopped. She must now go back to the planet with a group of marines to find out why the colonists have stopped all communications. <End of Spoiler>
This movie is considered by most to be the best out of the 4 Alien movies. I disagree and feel it has too many flaws to be that good. I'll address those later. But what it does right it does an awesome job with. This is a high energy film at parts with well placed breathers for story and character development and some descent acting.
The music The music was done by James Horner, my favorite film conductor (not the best, just my personal favorite). He did Star Trek II and I fell in love with his music before I even knew his name. He is most well known for his work in Titanic( another James Cameron film), and Braveheart (which earned him his role in Titanic). You will notice a lot of similarities in the Aliens soundtrack and the Star Trek II soundtrack. This isn't a bad thing necessarily, it just showed he relied too heavily on certain string movements in the 80's. Titanic and Braveheart showed him maturing more as a unique and powerful composer.
If you listen to the commentary James Cameron talks about the issues he had with the composer which really wasn't the composer's fault. The commentary in this film is very insightful btw.
The acting The acting is very good for a Science Fiction movie of that era. Sigourney Weaver is a great actor and plays the role beautifully. She plays a very strong woman with a lot of emotion. It doesn't seem on the surface like the two attributes should be together but is and they work together. At time when she can be emotional she is, and at other times when she needs to be the leader she does that too. She was second in command in the first movie so seeing these strengths are not surprising. The sergeant is played by Al Matthews and has the best lines in the film. I believe he really was a sergeant so the role wasn't a stretch, but it was fun to watch him perform. My favorite character is Private Vasquez played by Jenette Goldstein. She is the mouthpiece of the group and not to be messed with. The reason I'm impressed with her is her acting ability. The character in this movie and the one in T2 are so different and I had no idea it was the same actress until I looked her up. The synthetic organism of the party is called Bishop. It is standard procedure now to have a synthetic on these missions. For a bit of trivia, he was supposed to be the terminator in Terminator 1 until Arnold decided he wanted the role of the T-800 instead of the role of the hero. Rounding out the cast is another actor James Cameron liked to use in his films is Michael Biehn. He plays the love interest in both this movie and T1, and he is the one that eventually takes command in this movie. He played the role of a marine with a brain, which you don't find in the other marines. I really do like his performance and his placement glues a few things together.
The story and writing The story is good and moderately paced. It is not a non-stop action movie, it takes its time and take you in steps. This I feel is one of the problems with the movie and it really should have been edited down. Now this bring me to the problem with my previous statement with the extended version, that I like. The extended version adds a lot more emotional element to the film and makes the world in which you explore even more real. So I actually like the extended. So here is where I clearly pull my punch (sort of). Let me explain, I think it should have been a faster paced movie if your goal was excitement and entertainment (which is what I think the theatrical version was shooting for.) Now I do like the extended version for the same reasons I like the extended version of Lord of the Rings, because it makes the world become more alive and real. The colonists become alive. No I'm not going to make up my mind up as to which I think is better, it's a matter of the mood you are in. So in the end I think a faster paced movie would have been better but since I can only compare the theatrical release to the directors version, I have to say the directors cut is better.
The character development The development of Ripley is perfect. You do not have to have seen the first movie to get to know Ripley (although it helps). She is an emotional wreck yet a leader at the same time. They did a good job with her. The development of the "company man" (Carter Burke) was spaced out slowly, there is a reason for it and it is done perfectly. You never want to tell the audience everything. The development is great. When they get to the planet, the first thing they develop is the squad of marines, not the individuals. You really get to know them as a group and the group dynamics. Character development is not always about the individual, it can be about the sociological element too. But inter spliced within this sociological develop was some good development of characters. The foremost character developed during this part of the movie is the Sergent, and I feel his development was essential because of what happens to him when hell breaks loose. This is where the audience gets emotionally involved. Without this development a lot of emotion would have been lost. During the second act of the movie the characters are finally developed as individuals. Vasquez retails the discipline of a true marine, where as the others fall apart in their own way. The writing and character development here is done well, but sadly it does slow down the movie for me.
The pacing The pacing is my second biggest problem with this film. It has the worst pacing out of the three (I, II, & IV). The story stops in too many places and develops characters and relationships that I just do not think are worth developing. They just interfere with the story of survival which is the part I am most interested in. Yes I know that the character development that was done so well is the culprit, but I still think less character development would have been better (the I would probably be complaining about that then wouldn't I, lol). I view this movie as a story of survival, not a love story between Ripley and the hot space marine, nor the story of a mother and her adopted child. I don't think these stories were necessary or productive to the main plot of the movie.
The special effects This movie was done in 1986 and special effects were still pretty traditional in the usage of models and giant puppets. This is a big plus because these special effect elements have really stood the test of time for the most part.
Replay value This is one of those movies I can watch over and over again. I find it entertaining and engaging. Of course I always like violence when it is done well. And I always know where the parts are that I can refill my cup of coffee.
Should children watch it? No. I would only recommend it for mature teenagers. Now it is not as graphic as many modern films, including the fourth one, but it will still give some of the more innocent ones nightmares.
Genre Science Fiction/Action/Horror
The key players Director: James Cameron Writers: James Cameron, David Giler, & Walter Hill Music: James Horner
Ratings Yahoo users: B Yahoo critics: not listed Metacritics users: not listed in database Metacritics critics: not listed in database Rotten Tomato community: 95% Rotten Tomato critics: 100% My score: 4.75
The survivor of the 1979 "Alien" returns to planet LB 426 with Marines sent to check her horror story. Directed by James Cameron.More at HotMovieSale.com
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